SMYRNA, S.C. — When voters go to the polls on Election Day to submit their ballots in the twenty-first century, they expect results that night. Cable news coverage, online trackers, and social media have fed a hunger for immediacy.
For some elections, like the race for Mooresville mayor, the winner may seem obvious with a candidate receiving a large majority of the total possible votes. For other races, canvassing every single possible vote becomes extra critical because the margins are slim.
In Smyrna, South Carolina, a small town stretching across portions of both York And Cherokee counties, it's not immediately obvious who will represent the town's population of only 58 people. Frances Faulkner, the only candidate listed on the ballot in the race for mayor, appears to have fewer votes than all the write-in candidates combined.
At a meeting Thursday, York County Election Officials reviewed all the votes cast in this week's election. For Smyrna specifically, officials reviewed each write-in. Officials will need to compare spellings, make interpretations on the intention of any misspellings, and ultimately determine whether a potential winner even qualifies to hold public office.
In this small town, Frances Faulkner, the officially listed candidate, received 7 votes. Write-in candidates received 19 votes. Officials said Thursday, those 19 write-in votes went to Robert W. Faulkner, Jr.
Robert W. Faulkner, Jr, is the son of Robert W. Faulkner, Sr., who too won an election this week. Faulkner, Sr. wasn't a listed candidate on the ballot for council. Instead, those names were Kimberly Linow, Amy Myott, and Jessica Smith.
Smith was ultimately decertified from the election, leaving only two viable candidates listed for what is intended to be an election of four people. Linow, who got the most votes at 19, won a seat. She'll be joined by Faulkner, Sr., who got 19 votes.
Sure enough, there's another Faulkner in the mix. Betsy Brailey Faulkner received 14 write-in votes for the same town council election. She will occupy the third seat.
Robert Philip Jackson won the fourth seat with 11 write-in votes.
Myott lost the election with only 8 votes.
Election officials are not tasked with making their own decisions about how many Faulkners represent the people of Smyrna. They're simply tasked with certifying that every qualifying vote has been accounted for.
"The process is that the write-ins must be reviewed and researched as to who they are attributed to," a spokesperson told WCNC Charlotte ahead of the meeting. "Multiple people can be written in for a single race and if one receives the most votes, they are contacted to see if they are interested in accepting the seat. If there is a tie, that results in a runoff if both wish to accept the seat. "
Accounting for every last vote is not a matter exclusive to Smyrna.
In Union County, North Carolina, the two top candidates for Monroe mayor are separated by just one vote, according to unofficial results. That county's election officials are also reviewing 15 write-in candidates for the race, and accounting for absentee and provisional ballots to see if either Bob Yanacsek or Robert Burns can be declared the clear winner.
In Mecklenburg County, Stephanie Hand still hopes 352 absentee and provisional ballots might contain the votes needed for her to beat out Tariq Scott Bokhari for Charlotte City Council District 6. In Pineville, two candidates are tied for the second of two seats available on that town's council. With Amelia Stinson-Wesley secured at 676 votes, next steps are needed to determine whether Eric Fransen or Danielle A. Moore, both of which received 624 votes, get the second open seat.
Races could be close with any level of voter turnout. For this municipal election, turnout was low. In Union County, 14.18% of registered voters cast ballots. In Mecklenburg County the number was 15.47%. While York County didn't have voter turnout listed yet on the South Carolina Board of Elections website, the state said overall turnout across the state averaged only 6%.
While voter turnout is typically lower in years without a presidential race, low turnout does mean write-in candidates stand out more. That means a name like "Pee Wee Herman," which was actually written on at least one ballot in York County, gets more noticed -- even if fictional characters cannot actually hold office.